When in a Charleston beach house, eat shrimp

What vacation in a Charleston beach house is complete without a meal of those cute curled crustaceans?

Shrimp is one of those foods that makes people happy and really rounds out the beach experience. When you come to the coast to stay in one of our beach rentals Charleston, you can’t help but crave some seafood.

Great seafood options near your Charleston beach house

Seems like you can’t throw a rock nowadays without hitting a restaurant that sells great seafood. Countless options exist near all our beach house rentals Charleston SC. If you’re in one of our Isle of Palms vacation rentals, you don’t even have to leave the island. Long Island Café, next to Harris-Teeter, has been around for decades and has some really delicious shrimp and other fruits of the sea. Other good choices are The Boathouse at Breach Inlet (great views), Acme Lowcountry Kitchen, Coda del Pesce, and Morgan Creek Grill (more great views at the marina). They’re sure to please all ages staying in your beach house Charleston.

This year’s shrimp season has been delayed this year due to the cold winter. Normally it would have begun about a month ago near our SC vacation rentals, around the time of the Blessing of the Fleet. Recreational shrimpers eagerly await the go-ahead to fill their coolers with some of the most delicious crustaceans known to man (or woman). Local catch is prized by restaurant chefs and Lowcountry home cooks alike.

According to this article in the Post & Courier, they are hoping to get the green light as soon as tomorrow. Read more about it here.

Most recreational shrimping is done from an open flat boat at night, since that’s when shrimp move in to feed in shallow, murky water. The most common technique involves setting poles to mark a spot, throwing bait balls made of fish meal mixed with mud or clay, waiting a short while for the word to get out, then casting nets into the area to catch the shrimp as they feed.

About a half million pounds of shrimp are caught each year by this baiting technique.

Other options to get seafood near your Charleston beach house

If catching them yourself is not your cup of tea, you can still experience shrimp season. Head to Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant (on Coleman Boulevard, along the way from Isle of Palms to Charleston). There you can see commercial shrimp trawlers and the dolphins that often follow them. Several seafood restaurants line the creek, including Red’s Ice House, where you can even dine al fresco on the deck with your canine friend.

Buy fresh caught shrimp at Wando Shrimp Company, a tucked-away favorite of locals, at 102 Haddrell Street. The shrimp is excellent, as are the prices.

While there, be sure to cross the creek to experience one of the best new parks in the area, the incredibly beautiful Shem Creek Park. Piers, boardwalks and docks stretch across the marsh and extend all the way towards Charleston harbor, offering great views previously only seen by boaters or birds. The park cost almost $9 million to develop and opened a few years back to rave reviews.

Again, you don’t even have to leave the IOP to purchase fresh seafood. Simmons Seafood is located just down the street from your luxury house on Isle of Palms, at 1400 Palm Boulevard. They are family owned and have been around since 1947. Harris-Teeter also has a perfectly respectable seafood market.

Once you get back to your luxury rental home at the beach, why not prepare your fresh shrimp by trying out one of the Lowcountry’s classic signature dishes – Shrimp & Grits.

Here is chef Robert Stehling’s recipe from Hominy Grill, the popular restaurant on Rutledge Avenue in downtown Charleston. FYI, if you are heading downtown from one of our luxury beach house rentals SC, Hominy Grill is a great breakfast/lunch/brunch option. They even serve breakfast all day. Portions are large and luscious. Think sweet potato waffles, pimento cheese biscuits, and pork belly grit bowls.

Shrimp & Grits recipe to make in your Charleston beach house

Prepare the creamy grits “base” first. While they are simmering, you can prepare the shrimp topping.

4 c water

¾ t salt

1 T butter – Mix together and bring to boil in a heavy saucepan. Stir in:

So enjoy shrimp in your Charleston beach house – local shrimp if possible. And remember, when you are looking for rental homes South Carolina, namely Isle of Palms luxury rentals, to call EP. We can put you in the perfect Charleston beach house.